Field
This disclosure relates to a positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery, a manufacturing method thereof, and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same.
Description of the Related Technology
A rechargeable lithium battery includes positive and negative electrodes including a material that can reversibly intercalate/deintercalate lithium ions as positive and negative active materials and an organic electrolyte solution or a polymer electrolyte solution charged between the positive and negative electrodes. The positive and negative electrodes intercalate and deintercalate lithium ions and produce electrical energy through oxidation and reduction reactions.
A positive active material for the rechargeable lithium battery may include an oxide consisting of lithium and a transition metal and having a structure capable of intercalating lithium, for example, a lithium cobalt-based oxide, a lithium manganese-based oxide, a lithium nickel-based oxide, a lithium iron phosphate-based compound, and the like.
This type of positive active material has low electrical conductivity and is mostly mixed with a conductive agent to prepare electrode slurry but has a limit of improving the low electrical conductivity. In order to improve the low electrical conductivity, the positive active material may be coated with carbon on the surface. However, since the positive active material is typically prepared by coating a carbon raw material such as sucrose thereon and firing it, the positive active material has low crystallinity and still includes impurities and thus, may hardly secure satisfactory electrical conductivity.